Most residential, commercial, golf and athletic field irrigation sites are watered with sprinklers which distribute the water above the ground. The sprinklers are typically coupled to solenoid actuated valves via underground pipes. The valves are turned ON and OFF by a programmable electronic irrigation controller which executes a watering program. Large areas of turf are watered with gear driven rotor-type sprinklers. Smaller areas of turf, as well as shrubs and other decorative plantings, are watered with rotary stream sprinklers and spray-type sprinklers. Drip irrigation and micro-spray nozzles can also be used to water individual plants with very low flow rates in an effort to conserve water.
Some landscaped areas can benefit from the subterranean application of water, such as grassy areas that have inclined or hilly contours or roof top gardens on high rise buildings. If these contoured areas are watered with sprinklers, a substantial amount of water can run-off the contoured areas or spray onto undesired areas such as walkways. In some areas, the ambient temperature is so high that a substantial amount of water applied via sprinklers to turf and other landscaping is lost due to evaporation. In the case of roof-top gardens, the winds can be substantial and a significant proportion of water from above-ground sprinklers can be blown away. Spikes with built-in nozzles can be used to deliver water underground, but this is only appropriate for individual trees and shrubs, and not turf.
An “irrigation mat” has been developed that is designed to be buried in the soil below turf and other landscaping delivers water to this type of vegetation in a subsurface fashion. This allows watering of contoured landscaped areas and roof top gardens without loss of water due to spraying sidewalks, excess run off or blowing wind. Golf courses, playing fields and the like can be in use by players during subsurface watering. Subsurface watering is also more efficient in conserving water since it eliminates surface water evaporation. One form of irrigation mat that has been commercialized comprises a plurality of parallel extending perforated plastic pipes that are surrounded by a textile mat that conducts water away from the pipes into the soil via capillary action. This type of irrigation mat is typically buried four to six inches below turf or other plantings. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,659 of Murray granted Nov. 24, 1998, entitled “Capillary Root Zone Irrigation System.”
There is a need for improved forms of irrigation mat that are useful in the aforementioned specialized irrigation sites, and others.